The member representing Oshodi/Isolo State Constituency 11 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, Jude Idimogu has appealed to Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the Speaker of the Lagos State Assembly, Mudashiru Obasa and other leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State to intervene in the leadership crisis rocking the Igbo caucus within the party ahead of the next general election.
Idimogu, a two-term member of Lagos State House of Assembly, made the appeal in a statement he issued following the clash between his loyalists and those of the Special Adviser to Governor Sanwo-Olu on Drainage Services, Chief Joe Igbokwe. The clash occurred during the official inauguration of executive members of Ndigbo in Lagos APC Ejigbo Local Council Development Area chapter at the party’s secretariat.
The lawmaker expressed his fears over what he described as the overbearing attitude of Igbokwe. He said this may adversely affect the electoral fortunes of the party in future elections.
Igbokwe is the leader of Ndigbo in Lagos APC, while Idimogu is his deputy. The two leaders disagreed over the list of executive members of Ndigbo in the Ejigbo council chapter of the party.
The inauguration was conducted by Igbokwe amid protests by the group loyal to Idimogu who vowed that the event would not hold because they were not carried along.
Idimogu told reporters after the inauguration that the exercise was not supposed to take place until all interest groups were harmonised, to avoid escalating the disagreement within the Ndigbo caucus in the chapter. He added: “Election is coming and the party knows that in this particular zone, we have a lot of people who are not indigenous to the state and they are watching.”
He alleged that Igbokwe has succeeded in making his brother, Ekene Emmanuel Igbokwe, the chairman of Ndigbo in Lagos APC, Ejigbo LCDA chapter. He said: “As a follow up to the purported inauguration of executive members of Ndigbo in APC, Ejigbo chapter, I plead with our leaders in the state to investigate carefully what happened. I want this invasion of my constituency by Joe Igbokwe with more than 100 police officers to be looked into.
“I think the party should investigate the imposition of executives of Ndigbo in Lagos APC on me in the constituency which I have been representing for two terms now. The party should not treat this with levity because elections are coming. Igbokwe and his cohorts do not have the grassroots base and support that can win elections for the APC.”
Angry members of the party from Ejigbo who are obviously supporters of Idimogu warned against causing division within the party ahead of future elections. One of the aggrieved members, Chief (Mrs.) Nelly Okafor also called on the party leaders in the state to intervene in the matter to ensure proper harmonisation.
She said: “We have disowned Joe Igbokwe as the apex leader from today because he does not have the criteria, he does not have the value, and he does not have the integrity to be called the apex leader. Joe Igbokwe has decided to divide Ndigbo in APC here in Ejigbo and it is not happening in only this local government but in other LCDAs because he is creating problems for the APC.
“They insisted on holding the inauguration excluding the other two factions. My own faction is in support of Jude Idimogu who is the apex leader in Oshodi/Isolo constituency II“
A youth leader, Nick White Obom said Igbokwe is not carrying other stakeholders along as a leader and that this is creating problems within the Igbo caucus. He said: “Why would he schedule inauguration of executives in the LCDA without carrying Idimogu, who is the number one political leader in the area along.
“Igbokwe is giving us headaches. Everything here is shrouded in secrecy; we sought to know the persons to be inaugurated, and they refused. We asked for the list, they refused. “Up to this very moment, we have not seen the list of those they want to inaugurate. He is carrying along only his relatives.”
Frank Okwuoma, an executive member at Oke-Afa ward in Ejigbo LCDA also remarked that what Igbokwe was doing was wrong and dangerous to the well-being of the party. Okwuoma, popularly known as ‘Okadigbo’ said: “Why are they interested in creating factions. I am interested in unity. We are only seeking that all the factions come together.
“It is not in our interest that Joe Igbokwe comes here to inaugurate his faction, split the party here in Ejigbo without Jude Idimogu who is supposed to be the number one citizen here in Ejigbo. What an insult.
“How can Igbokwe who does not live here in Ejigbo come and lord it over us and over Jude Idimogu who resides here. He is only creating factions in APC here in Ejigbo; it is really unfortunate. Jude has been our leader and representative for over seven years. He doesn’t want to accept that.”
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